Why Palin Will Run

Until she runs for office again...Palin's
role is basically that of a celebrity on her own behalf, and a
rabble-rouser on behalf of the GOP. Although each of those things can
occupy a goodly amount of one’s time, the media is likely to tire of
Palin if she’s not actually making news, and Palin herself may grow
tired of not being the center of attention. Moreover, there’s not any
evidence that laying low seems to help Palin’s standing with the
public; on the contrary, her numbers seemed to have have declined a lot during the past several months, a period during which (until recently) she was not making much news.

The
reason I suspect this may be the case is because Palin’s popularity
seems to stem not from any particular attributes that she possesses as
a candidate, but rather from the reactions that she seems to induce
from other people. Only by being in the spotlight can Palin induce
liberal pundits to say rude things about her, fellow candidates to
behave awkwardly around her, etc. Only in this way can she be the
martyr and the underdog, qualities that conceal some of her potential
inadequacies.

I get the sense from the beginning of this tour that Palin may consciously want this and intend this, but is unconsciously seeking her own self-destruction. Her actions, as always, are not strategic. They are a function of emotion, paranoia, delusions of reality and some kind of professional death-wish. The question is simply how long she can continue before this whole thing implodes.

But then I've thought she was on the verge of self-destruction from Day One. I didn't think she'd be on the ticket by election day, remember. So what do I know?

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